


Cathartic Screaming

by Aibohp



Series: Things Are Getting Weird [12]
Category: Gravity Falls, Rick and Morty
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Morty is done, Multi, talking about feelings (gross)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2018-12-29 18:12:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12090600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aibohp/pseuds/Aibohp
Summary: Everyone is back together and now it's time to deal with Morty's hallucinations (vivid and horrible predictions) about the future. Secrets are brought to the forefront. The past is rehashed. Siblings fight, and there's some screaming.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm going to try and post once a week. On Thursdays. Enjoy!

The sun was finally coming up and everyone was sitting around the kitchen, silent. Mabel looked absolutely horrified and Morty looked a bit sick. Surprisingly, especially considering what they’d been told, he was sitting next to her. It was almost like he was trying to prove that he wasn’t scared of her. Dipper was sitting on her other side, his arm thrown around her shoulder. Pacifica had stood herself up in the corner, somewhat separating herself from the group. The Weirdmageddon happened to everyone in Gravity Falls but what was happening now seemed like it was more or less centered on the Pines family, and now Rick and Morty by extension. 

“So how likely is it that all that craziness that the kid was yammering on about is going to happen,” Stan asked, glaring at the cup of deep purple liquid that was sitting in front of him. All the adults had ended up with one, courtesy of Rick. “How are we not sure he didn’t just have some a bad trip?” 

“Uncomfortably likely,” Ford stated, sipping from cup and sighing as he scrubbed his hand through his thinning hair. “Things are odd in Gravity Falls, Stan. I’m entirely willing to believe that there is a tree out there passing out glimpses of the future to anyone who can find it!” 

“Wuuugh--What he said,” Rick agreed with a frown. The fact that the two were agreeing on anything at all was disturbing. “Sh-shit is weird around here. Th-there’s an unusual amount of fucking weird shit!” 

“What is that supposed to mean,” Stan asked, frowning at the two. He wanted some actual answers that he could grasp not just “things are fucking weird in Gravity Falls’. That seemed to be the answer to everything in this funky little town. 

“I think i-i-it means that shit like magic trees and fairies and shit happens almost everywhere b-but not with th-the same frequency it does here,” Morty answered, staring down at the table. Beside Mabel, Dipper nodded, frowning deeply as he drummed his fingers against his sister’s shoulder. 

“He’s right. I’ve been doing studies in my home town and it’s nothing like this place,” Dipper said, frowning as he gazed off into nothingness. “I find ghosts and hauntings most of the time,” he continued, brow furrowed. “Sometimes there’s something a little more exciting but rarely.” 

“Ghosts are one of th-the more common phenomenon throughout the m-multiverse,” Rick said, his eyes sliding toward Mabel. “Th-they’re a great source of energy. Some people buy them just as curious knick knacks.” He paused to throw back what was left in his cup. It was a surprisingly sweet drink that one didn’t find on Earth. To him it tasted like fucsia glitter looked. “People who are sensitive to them can great work if they know where to look.” 

Mabel looked up at that and narrowed her eyes. He just arched his brows at her in reply. She hadn’t really talked to anyone else about her issues with ghosts. Ever since the time she’d been possessed at the corner store by that old couple she had been having encounters with them. She didn’t think she’d been possessed since then, though. The thing was she hadn’t really planned on telling anyone else. She hadn’t even talked to Rick about it all that much! 

“Anything you want to tell us, Mabel,” Ford asked, making the girl jump. He felt a little bad for that. Frowning, she squirmed in her seat and dropped her gaze. Of course he had noticed her and Rick’s little staring contest. 

“Not really,” she muttered, curling her fingers into her sweater and playing with the hem. What was she supposed to say? ‘Hey guys! I see dead people?’ But it wasn’t like she could keep it underwraps anymore, not since Rick decided to betray her. She shot the man another dirty look. 

“Are you sure about that,” he asked again, drawing Mabel’s eyes from Rick, who was pouring himself another drink. “You know you can talk to us, Mabel. We’re your family and we love you,” he said. It brought tears to the girl’s eyes and she dropped her gaze again. 

“Yeah you can tell us, Mabes,” Dipper said at her side, giving her a squeeze. It made her want to cry even more because she could have told Dipper from the start and chose not to. He would have believed her. 

“Come on, sweetie,” Stan said from across the table in that gravely but gentle voice he used when she was upset and he knew she needed more coddling than usual. “Whatever it is, it’s probably better we know now.” 

Sighing, Mabel thought that he was probably right. 

“I can see ghosts and sometimes they seem to like… follow me around? It’s how I knew about Pacifica and that what that girl did the other day,” she admitted, glancing back at the blonde. “It’s been happening ever since the night at the convenience store. Her eyes roamed to Dipper then. He was the one who had been there with her that night. His eyes were huge with shock. 

“Mabel! That means that this has been happening for years! Why didn’t you tell me!!?” Dipper sounded two parts worried and one part angry. It made Mabel look away from him, arms crossing defensively over her chest. 

“Well then it isn’t unbelievable that Mabel could be possessed by something that would be able to help Bill back into this realm of existence,” Ford pointed out before Dipper could ask anything else and for that Mabel was thankful. “Ghosts and possessions are a very common occurrence, as Rick said. There is evidence suggesting that one is easier to possess or connect with if the person has been possessed or interacted with ghosts before.” 

“Right,” Rick said into his cup, frowning. It was a little disturbing that he and Ford weren’t fighting. “And how w-would they do th-hat? H-how did you all get rid of Bill in th-the first place,” he asked seriously, looking around the table. Morty was looking at his hands. Mabel had pulled her legs into her seat with them and was hugging them. Dipper was shooting glances at his sister ever few minutes. 

“I let him possess me and then used a brain erasing dohickey on myself,” Stan said with a frown. Rick froze beside him. They hadn't really talked about anything that had happened from the moment he left till the moment he got back. They had mostly just been trying to ignore the new tension between them and pretend that nothing had changed. Well, save for the fact that they weren't constantly trying to get in each other’s pants. “I remember all my memories going up in flames and Bill along with ‘em. He was yellin’ something too but it all sounded like jibberish to me.” 

“Why w-w-would y-you do that,” Rick demanded with a scowl. “Y-you could have completely fucked your brain!” The old man was glaring at his past lover, frustrated because he still cared. Much as he hated to admit it most of the time. 

“It was the only thing I could think of! Besides it wouldn’t have been a big loss,” Stan grumbled, hunching forward to rest his elbow on the table and plant his chin in his palm. 

“Don’t say that about yourself!” Both Rick and Ford snap at the same time. They spared a glance for each other before turning their attention back to the man between them. 

“Some of us actually give a damn about y-you, Pines,” Rick grumbled, still frowning at his past lover. He had almost forgotten how self deprecating Stan could be at times, especially when comparing himself to his brother. For all that the guy wasn’t the same kind of smart that Rick and Ford were, he wasn’t a moron by any means. 

“And just what is that supposed to mean,” Ford asked, apparently having not liked Rick’s tone. It did imply that there were people around the table who _didn’t_ care about Stan after all. “I didn’t just up and leave him without any sort of rhyme or reason, only to show back up decades later!”

Across the table Dipper was starting to pester Mabel again, a frown carved into his face. The only people not trying to pick a fight were Pacifica and Morty. For all the differences that the two had between them, there was one thing they had in common. Shitty Families. So the swell of staticy silence in between Ford’s comment to Rick and Dippers frustrated question of just why Mabel hadn’t said anything to him about her ghost problem, was felt by both teens. It was the same silent but tense sort of moment that would come before Jerry and Beth started to fight or before Pacifica’s parents started to gang up on her for cutting her hair or just not acting like they thought she should. It was also nearly daylight outside and after everything that had happened Morty had had enough. 

“SHUT UP,” Morty barked, jerking up from the table and slapping his hands down on the top of it. The half formed comeback in Rick’s mouth fell apart and Mabel, who hadn’t been planning on answering her twin anyway, looked up at the normally shy, awkward boy. “J-just shut up, all of you! It-It-It’s ass o’clock in the morning and I-I’m going to bed! If y-y-you guys have to stay up and fight th-then at least keep it down so the rest of us can sleep!” 

With that he stormed off, leaving everyone stunned silent. It wasn’t like it was often that Morty got worked up enough to yell at anyone. Usually when he did it was Rick on the receiving end rather than everyone in the room. Pacifica watched from her corner for a moment before shoving herself off the wall. She had had enough of this too. Really, it didn’t seem to concern her anyway and she had her own issues to try and work out. 

“I’m with him,” Pacifica announced, throwing a thumb over her shoulder to indicate where Morty had run off too. “So I’ll see you all in the morning. Have fun with this Exorcist shit or like, whatever,” she said through a yawn before she too left the room. 

Everyone was quiet for a moment. 

“Just so y-you know, Ford. I-I may have left Stan but it-it’s not like I was picking something over him like I-I don’t know. A scholarship to some school? I-I was trying to pick him over ya know him dying! So suck on th-that, buddy,” he said, shoving his chair back and stomping out of the room. The screen door slammed behind him as he left the Shack. 

Mabel was the next to move, though she didn’t say anything. She just jumped up and ran. Her feet pounded on the stairs. If Stan had to guess he would say she was heading to the roof. Dipper was fast on her heels, too, having hopped up moments after his sister and following her up the stairs. Stan wasn’t sure it was a good idea for him to go try and push her for answers but he was to tired to bother with that. Beside him, Ford was looking a bit shamefaced, probably because of what Rick had said. He was too tired to deal with that either. 

“You know it’s a real boost to an old man’s ego having you and Rick fighting over who hurt me more but I’d prefer if you two got along,” Stan said, palming his face before getting up from the table with a groan. “We can talk more about our impending doom later but for now, I’m going to bed.” 

Ford didn’t say anything when his brother took a turn that would lead him toward the porch and not his room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoy.

Rick was laying out on the couch when Stan came outside. His arm was thrown over his face and his stomach rose in the steady rhythm of sleep. Or at least he thought it was sleep. Stan was actually about to turn around and go back inside when the other man moved his arm and lifted his head up a little to look at the man seeking him out. With a sigh, he let his head drop back down and placed his arm over his eyes again. 

“I d-don’t suppose y-y-you came out here to make out or something did you,” Rick asked, moving his legs so that Stan could sit down at the end of the couch. One curled up to rest against the back of the couch and the other fell off the couch entirely. “So what did y-you want?” 

Stan grunted quietly and came to drop down on the couch. The sun was slowly coming up but down below the treeline it was still plenty dark. Stars were still shining in the sky, even as the pink of dawn crept up to meet them and make them disappear. Once upon a time it wouldn’t have been that odd for Stan and Rick to be awake when night started turning into day. It wouldn’t have been odd at all for them to be talking or fucking or whatever the hell else that people who are young and in love do in those wee dreamlike hours between night and day. Usually it would be Rick seeking out Stan, though. 

“You always thought this was the best time of day to talk about feelings and all that crap,” Stan pointed out as he looked down at the skinny, tired man. Rick grunted back at him and peeked out from under his arm, watching Stan curiously. “We’ve talked about what all happened after you left but we’ve never talked about why you left. After everything that happened in that other dimension and all, and what you said just now, well I think I’m owed an explanation.”

“W-w-what the fuck do you mean, Pines? W-wasn’t what happened in X-2137 enough of an explanation for y-y-you? Jesus. Y-you’re not fucking stupid how do you still not get this,” Rick snapped, voice bubbling with frustration. Groaning, he shoved himself up so he was sitting on the opposite end of the the couch as Stan, glaring at him. “I-I’m pretty sure I told you that I’m a criminal on an intergalactic scale, right? If this is about Lee’s tripe about how Rikki let him have the choice to risk his life with her th-then let me just say that sh-sh-she’d probably have made the same decision I did if she weren’t pregnant.” 

“Why,” Stan asked, scowling at his past lover, funny as Rick looked with his eyes bugging out of his head. “You’ve been saying I wasn’t stupid for years so why didn’t I get the choice to stay? It’s my life! You should have let me decide what to do with it? What is it about us Stans that you think makes us so stupid that you have to make these decisions for us?” There had to be others who had met Rick and gotten the same treatment he did, seeing his younger doppleganger was proof of that. Seeing Rikki and Lee having everything that he had been denied hurt. “Don’t you realize how fucking much I loved you!? Do you not realize that I would’ve followed you to the end of the--” 

Stan got cut off my Rick’s mouth. Once again he wondered just how Rick was still able to move so quickly when he seemed to have aged just as badly as Stan, if not worse. He sat frozen for a moment, staring at Rick’s closed eyes. Everything about the kiss was different but also very familiar. It was little things like how Rick’s fingers pressed into the back of his neck while his palm cupped the side of his neck and his thumb stretched back to brush Stan’s bottom lip. He’d forgotten how long Rick’s hands had been. The sour taste on Rick’s lips was familiar too but the lips themselves were more dry and cracked than they ever had been before. When Rick pulled away he leaned back and shook Stan’s head between his own hands. 

“Of course I-I-I fucking knew! Y-you fucking dumbass! I-I-I knew that you’d come with m-m-me,” Rick said, nearly shouting inches away from Stan’s face. Pulling away, he ran his fingers through his wild blue-white hair and slammed himself into the back of the couch. “I knew y-you’d get yourself killed with m-m-me,” he continued, staring hopelessly at the sky that was growing more and more pink and orange. “D-Don’t you know how much I-I loved you? I-I-I didn’t want you to die because of m-m-me.” 

That comment struck Stan silent for a moment. He hadn’t really thought about that. Then again it wasn’t as though Rick had left him with any sort of explanation as to why he had left or anything. He had just up and gone. How the hell was he supposed to make the connection that Rick loved him when he felt so abandoned. Sighing, Stan dragged a hand over his face. 

“How was I supposed to know that? You just left Rick. No note, no nothing. You were just gone,” Stan said, looking over at Rick who was glaring at his knees. “If you were just going to up and leave you shoulda at least told me you were going. Leave a note in lipstick on the mirror, something!” 

“Y-y-you would have spent your life trying to find m-me,” Rick protested slamming his bony fists against his thighs. “I-I didn't want y-you to waste your life on m-m-me!!” His stuttering became terrible at the end, spit flying from his lips as he tried to get his words out. After a moment Rick's tense frame relaxed and he sighed as he pulled his legs up into the seat with him . His head fell back against the back of the couch and the old man dug his heels into the cushion he was sitting on. “I-I-I’m just not worth it.”

“Oh shut up,” Stan said reaching out to smack his hand against the back of Rick’s head, making the skinny man grunt and rub at the back of his head. “You know how I feel about you saying shit like that! You’re damn right that I’d have been trying to find you too and you know why? Because you’re worth it! God. How can someone so smart be so stupid? Do you remember what my life as like before you? When I wasn’t getting run out of town for all the cons I was pulling I was sleeping in my car and trying to do whatever I thought would take my mind off how my family abandoned me! It wasn’t until I hooked up with you that I started actually feeling happy,” he said, voice nearly rising to a shout. Beside him, Rick snorted, rolling his eyes and looking back at Stan with a scowl. 

“Y-You were still doing whatever you could get your hands on to keep yourself from thinking about that shit when you were with me! Or d-do you not remember all the coke, liquor, weed, pills, and nameless substances from other planets that we were taking w-when we were on the road,” Rick asked, actually managing a bitter laugh. “For all m-m-my genius and all the things I can create, the only thing I-I’ve ever really been good at is fucking shit up, tearing shit apart, and hurting people.” 

 

“Hey! I was also doing all that stuff with you because it was a lot of fun. Have you ever had sex with you while dropping acid,” Stan asked, grinning when Rick snickered beside him. It was quiet but it was a real laugh at least. “Look, Rick. Things between us weren’t perfect and we weren’t exactly wallowing in healthy coping mechanisms but the love was real,” Stan said, scooting closer and wrapping an arm around Rick’s shoulders. It was probably the first time he’d initiated physical contact between them besides a slap on the back or a punch to the arm. “And even if you never understand why I loved you, you gotta know that the fact that I did made you worth more than anything in the world to me.” 

Rick leaned into his side, resting his head on Stan’s shoulder and sighing quietly. Stan felt his long, thin fingers weave between his own, pulling the arm around his shoulders tighter. For a moment they were silent, just watching the sun come up. After everything Stan was about ready to fall asleep. HIs eyes were starting to drift shut when Rick finally broke the silence again. Everything in the yard was awash in warm, pink light and if things had been different it would have probably been pretty romantic. 

“I-I-I-I still love you,’ Rick said quietly, swallowing hard afterward. “When I-I came back I looked for you. B-but you had gotten your life together. Y-you were living here. I didn’t want to fuck that up. So I-I got married, had a kid. D-Don’t get me wrong. I-I loved my wife. But I never stopped loving y-y-you, either.” He took a deep breath and Stan felt Rick’s arm pinned between them lift up to palm over his face. “I-I don’t blame you for falling out of love with me. I’m kind of glad. I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Stan. I don’t know wh-why I can’t stop fucking shit up.” 

“We’ll deal with it later,” Stan said, though he made no effort to refute the other man’s statement. He had fallen out of love with him. All the anger and sadness he had dealt with because of Rick had doused any love that had been burning for the scientist over the years. It had taken years to do too. There had been plenty times where Rick would have taken Rick back in a heartbeat if he had seen him. With a groan, Stan shoved himself up off the couch. He felt Rick’s hand spasm, tightening around his own before letting go. “Come on,” Stan said, reaching back to grab Rick’s elbow and pull him up off the couch. “It’s too early for all this sappy stuff. Let’s go to bed.” 

“Are y-you trying to seduce me, Pines,” Rick joked, though he let himself be lead back into the house. Everything was quiet as they made their way toward Stan’s room. 

“Are you kidding? Since when do I have to try and seduce you? You’ve always been the easy time, Sanchez,” Stan teased back, ushering his old lover through his bedroom door before following.

“You calling me a slut,” rick asked, shrugging off his lab coat and pulling his shirt over his head. 

“Yup. Now get in bed. It’s time for sleep,” Stan ordered, moving across the room and pulling the blinds to keep the light out.

He heard Rick laughing quietly and the creak of bedsprings as the other man crawled into bed. When he turned around he saw that, like always, Rick had taken the left side of the bed and curled up on his side, staring at the wall. Or maybe it was the dresser that had his attention. There were pictures all over the top of it. Some of Dipper and Mabel, some of Ford, some of a man who looked a bit like both of them but was obviously neither. There were even some of Wendy, Soos and Melody. His entire cobbled together family. The pictures he had of Rick, of Bird Person, and Squanchy, and all their adventures were in a shoebox hidden away in his closet. He’d lost a few pictures of Rick over time. Some he’d actively destroyed. He had never been able to completely let go of the memories. Being with Rick had been one of the best times of his life. 

When Stan shed his pants and crawled into bed, he wrapped his arm around the already passed out genius. He nearly fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow but before sleep could claim him entirely he had the briefest thought that maybe it wouldn’t be impossible to learn and love Rick again. Neither of them were spring chickens anymore but maybe they could find a way to recapture just a little bit of their youth with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tune in next Thursday!


	3. Chapter 3

“Mabel what the hell,” Dipper cried as he clamored onto the roof. 

She wasn’t surprised at all by how quickly he found her. It was probably the twintuition that lead him to her so quickly. Either that or the fact that if she wasn’t in here room there was no other place that she’d be. The girl spared a glance over her shoulder. Dipper looked just as angry now as he had before. Biting her lip, Mabel pulled her knees to her chest and tucked her face into them. 

“Go away, Dipper. I want to be alone.” Her voice was slightly muffled but it was clear that she wasn’t interested in her twin’s company at the moment. 

“No! No, Mabel I’m sick of this,” Dipper protested, storming over to sit beside his sister. And who knew that someone could _sit_ angrily? 

“What do you mean--” 

“I mean this-this-this person you’re becoming! I’m sick of it! You’re turning into this reclusive… BITCH,” Dipper said, cutting Mabel off before she could even get started. “It’s been going for I don’t even know how long now, but especially this past year! Just what is wrong with you?!” Mabel sniffled as Dipper ranted and pressed her lips into a thin line, trying not to cry. “I mean I can understand not tellin mom and dad everything that goes on with you but me? We’re twins! We tell each other everything! Or we did! Now you don’t tell me anything! How could you not tell me you were seeing ghosts?! They are the only interesting thing that seems to exist outside of Gravity Falls and I have to break my back trying to find them when you can just-just see them?!”

Ah, there it was. Once again everything boiled down to being all about Dipper. Just like always. Suddenly Mabel was feeling a lot more angry and a lot less meek. Lifting her head, she glared at her brother, not that he seemed to notice. Oh no. He had moved on to start complaining about her new friends, what few she had. Despite, or maybe because of, her bubbly and unapologetically loud personality she didn’t exactly have a lot of friends. 

“And who is this Stacy chick you’re always sneaking out with? She isn’t like anyone who you usually hang out with. She freaking smokes and does drugs and I bet she’s the reason you started going to raves and doing that sort of stuff too, isn’t she?” 

“Shut up, Dipper,” Mabel finally snapped. Unlike down on the porch the sun had reached the top of the roof and highlighted the angry flush to her face. “Just shut up! Have you been listening to yourself at all? You just basically said you’d turn me into a walking talking ghost detector!” Dipper looked a bit shocked and then ashamed. Beside him, Mabel ran her fingers roughly through her hair, pushing it out of her face. “You aren’t a bad guy, Dipper but sometimes you’re so fucking selfish! Eventually you’d try to help me with my whole issue but first you’d be dragging me around helping you find ghosts and all that bullshit! And leave Stacy out of this! She isn’t the reason I’ve been drifting away from you! Or mom and dad… everyone in general.” 

Mabel sighed after that. Of course she knew what she was doing at home. She knew the rift between her and her family was real. This was just the first time that it had come up with Dipper. Her mother and father had tried to talk to her about it and she had ran away, straight to Gravity Falls. It had been so much easier talking to Rick about her problems than it was her family. Maybe it was because he didn’t know them, aside from Grunkle Stan. He wasn’t biased. Now, with Dipper, she had no idea how to start. 

“I’m sorry, Mabel,” Dipper said with a sigh, deflating next to her. Her twin scooted closer, pressing their arms together but not trying to throw said arm over her shoulder like he normally would. “I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t think that it might be painful or difficult for you to see ghosts because I’m always trying to find them. So to me it seemed like a dream come true. It’s just...Something is up with you and you’re not telling me about it or anyone and I’m worried. Mom and dad are too.” 

Closing her eyes against the early morning sun, Mabel leaned into her brother’s side, her head flopping onto his shoulder. Her anger with Dipper had been short-lived. It almost always was. Besides, it wasn’t as though she couldn’t be a little selfish herself. Selfishness was probably one of the most prevalent traits that humans shared with each other. 

“It’s okay, Dip-Dop. I’m not really mad at _you_. I’m just feeling.. I just…” Letting out a grunt of frustration and dug her temple into the point of her twin’s shoulder. “It’s hard to talk about.” 

“You had no problem talking about it with Rick,” Dipper said a little sourly, though none of his former bite was in the words was present. He even snuck his arm around Mabel’s waist, pulling her closer to which she didn’t protest. That was a good sign… probably. “Why him but not the rest of us?” 

“Rick is different. He’s well, he’s like me, Dipper. He’s an adult like me,” Mabel started, knowing she wasn’t making any sense just yet. “He is angry at the world and how unfair it is, like me. He likes men _and_ women like me! And he is an adult! Not even like a mom and dad adult but like a Grunkle adult! Back home every adult I ended up meeting made it seem like it was a phase I was going through! Like eventually I’d pick one or the other and either be a lesbian or be straight.” She scowled, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. When the fingers of her right hand found Dipper’s hand resting on the dip of her waist, she laced their fingers together, thankful that he was electing to stay quiet for now. “And I love you Dipper but do you have any idea what it is like being your sister? It sucks! Everything is all about you! Mom and dad don’t even blink when you skip school to go ghost hunting or when one of your experiments explodes and ruins the kitchen!” 

Mabel’s voice had been increasing in volume and pitch with every word. WIth a sigh, she cut herself off and took a moment to take in a few deep breaths. Sometimes she had to remind herself that those things weren’t Dipper’s fault. The difference between how their parents treated them didn’t mean she should get mad at Dipper for it. It was just hard sometimes. 

“I mean I know it’s just because there’s no point. Whether they lecture you or ground you, you’ll just keep doing the same stuff. But it’s frustrating! If they catch me skipping, I get grounded. If I make a mess with my crafts, or yarn, or anything they fuss at me and lecture me about leaving my stuff all over the place. And I mean… I know that’s all normal stuff but it’s just… You’re so smart! Everyone thinks you’re so brilliant! They don’t even notice me! How many kids my age are almost exclusively making their own clothes?! I’m not… I’M NOT STUPID! I’m just not as smart as you!” Mabel shouted the last part, her eyes watering up and then finally spilling over with a sniffle of frustration. She lifted her fists and scrubbed them against her eyes. “Mom and dad aren’t unjustly mean to me or anything but… I’m not special.” 

“Mabel…” Dipper started, his voice dying soon after. He had no idea what to say. Guilt clogged up his throat because even if it wasn’t directly his fault, he still felt responsible for how his sister felt. “I’m sorry. I had no idea you were feeling like this about _any_ of that, especially not you Bi-ness,” he gave her a questioning look and she shrugged a little. She had been turning over ‘Bi’ and ‘Pan’ in her head but wasn’t sure which one she felt fit her best. “You’re just so you! And never, like, ashamed of being you that I never thought it was a problem.” 

“The problem isn’t really with me. It’s just everyone else seems to think I need to pick one or the other. Or that I’m really kinky or some shit? You have no idea how many guys at school make jokes about me having threesomes with them and their girlfriends,” Mabel said, rolling her eyes and pulling her knees up to her chest. She rested her chin on them and scowled. “The other day I heard dad talking to one of his friends about how I was ‘doing the bi thing’. Like it was something I was going to grow out of.” 

Dipper, who had started glaring out into the woods at the mention of how people at school were treating Mabel winced when she mentioned their dad. He hadn’t noticed anything about how his parents were reacting to the news. It hadn’t occurred to him to be surprised by his sister’s declaration a couple years ago, or that his parents would be anything but supportive. Not that either of their parents had a problem with it. But little comments like that had escaped his notice.

“I’m sor--” Dipper started again, only to get cut off by Mabel elbowing him in the side. “Ow, what the hell?” 

“Don’t keep apologizing for mom, dad, and the world at large. The only thing you need to say sorry for is that you’re so caught up in ghost hunting that you don’t really care about anything else but that,” Mabel said with a quiet laugh. The comment was said as a joke but it was a real problem that she had with him. Over time she’d stopped trying to hang out with Dipper as often because if it wasn’t Ghost Hunting he didn’t seem interested. “I’m just really tired of everything. LIke, if I could just run away and be somewhere else and someone else, without hurting anyone, I would. I’m tired of having to act happy all the time because if I actually act sad everyone will go on and on about ‘what’s wrong Mabel? Are you okay Mabel?’ Nothing is wrong… I’m just sad. Or if something is wrong it just gets dismissed,” Mabel said with a scowl, thinking of every time she’d actually tried to talk about what was wrong only to get her mother saying: _‘Oh Mabel! You know that’s not true! We treat you and Dipper exactly the same.’_ or something similar. It drove her crazy. 

“Listen, Mabel. I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier but you know that if this whole seeing ghosts thing is going to lead to you becoming possessed and murdering everyone we have to do something about it, right,” Dipper asked quietly, making his twin snort.

“Yeah I know,” Mabel mumbled, biting her lip. “I just wish Rick hadn't outed me like that.” She glared at the horizon but the early light of dawn did nothing but highlight how pink her eyes were. Wiping under her eyes one last time, Mabel got to her feet. “Thanks for listening, Dip.”

Dipper followed his twin’s lead, rising to his feet. After everything that they had been through, they both deserved to get some sleep. He thought that their little talk was probably a long time coming. Maybe now they could get back to how they used to be. Or at least Mabel would talk to him more now, hopefully. 

“You don’t have to thank me for not being an ass, especially with how I was yelling at you earlier,” Dipper said, frowning at the thought. “Sorry again, by the way and… You know you can talk to me right, Mabel,” he asked, awkwardly rubbing the side of his neck. “Like, I think we just went over this and all but.. I just want you to know I care and junk? And sometimes you’re going to have to let me know when I’m acting like a dick because I get kinda wrapped up in my nerd stuff and--” 

Mabel cut him off with a hug. With a little sniffle, she lunged in to wrap her arms around Dipper’s neck and give him a squeeze. Slowly, he returned it, arms going around her waist. Suddenly he realized that it seemed like forever since the two of them had hugged. That rift that had been growing between them before had gotten bigger than either of them had realized.

“Thanks Dipper. I’ll try not to be so much of a… what did you call me? A reclusive bitch,” Mabel asked with a giggle as her brother groaned. “Come on.” She pulled away and headed toward the trapdoor leading back down into the Shack. “Let’s go to bed. Do you mind if I stay with you and Morty?” 

“I think that can be arranged, for our favorite Mabel,” Dipper said with a chuckle. 

The twins’ hands stayed linked until they got to Dipper and Morty’s room. Mabel was too tired to care if about sleeping in her clothes and went to flop down in her brother’s bed. Dipper followed quickly after, sparring just enough time to kick off his shoes before dropping down on top of his sister. Her grunt of annoyance was amusing but not so much the elbow to the ribs he got when he didn’t roll off of her fast enough. Still, he was snickering when he landed on the mattress beside her. 

“Night night, Dipping sauce,” Mabel said, her voice muffled by the pillow she’d pressed her face into. 

“Night, Mabel,” Dipper yawned back, though it ended with a yelp of surprise when a pillow came sailing in from across the room. 

“B-Both of you shut the fuck up,” Morty grumbled, making Mabel bust out in giggles. “I-I’ll come over there, damn it!” 

Silence reigned for a moment in the near-dark room. Still, Mabel shook beside Dipper for a moment as she stifled her laughter. It made Dipper feel a little better about things. The situation had already improved since they were down in the kitchen. Maybe by the time everyone had gotten some sleep the future wouldn’t seem so bleak and terrifying. After all, they had beaten Bill once and that was when they didn’t have some idea of what he was planning to do to them. Vague and disturbing as Morty’s vision had been, it was something. Between Ford and Rick, he was sure that they would be able to think of something that would help both Stan and Mabel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter? Anyway, tune in next Thursday for more!


	4. Chapter 4

It was maybe two in the afternoon when Rick finally rolled out of bed. Stan was still asleep and the other man made no effort to wake him as he stumbled toward the bathroom. About ten minutes later he was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and an odd assembly of electronics in front of him. There wasn’t much to do until at least Ford woke up. Much as he disliked the man, Rick needed to talk to him about an idea he had for how to save Stan from getting his skull bashed in. Until then he was working on something he’d said he would do for Pacifica. 

After all, their whole adventure in another universe had started because they were trying to get her clothes from her parents house. Now they didn’t have any of them. And he _had_ told her that he’d make her new clothes since they had to ditch them when running from Riki’s version of the Galactic Federation. 

“Good morning, Rick.” 

That would be Stanford. And his voice didn’t sound like he wanted Rick to have a good morning at all. More likely he was hoping that Rick would dissolve into a puddle under what Rick assumed to be a pretty intense glare. His suspicions were proven correct when he glanced over his shoulder. 

“Morning, Ford. Got a stick up your ass or, what,” Rick asked, leaning over what he’d cobbled together so far. The idea was for something similar to a 3D printer. Only better. 

“No.” That came out as if Stanford was speaking through clenched teeth. “I saw you coming out of Stan’s room this afternoon, though. Maybe you’d want to explain that?” 

Rick blinked a couple times, trying to remember the last time someone had actually tried giving him a shovel talk? It had to have been decades since an annoyed family member tried to shoo him off of their sister, brother, mom, dad, whoever he was trying to bang. The whole situation was that he and Stan hadn’t done anything. Rick snorted and rolled his eyes but didn’t bother with looking at Ford when he spoke. 

“And y-your point? Hate to be the guy to break it to you but this isn’t the first time I-I-I’ve found my way into your brother’s bed,” Rick said, with a little smirk. He finally glanced over his shoulder at the fuming man who was standing behind him. Ford looked like he’d bitten into a lemon. “D-Don’t tell me you didn’t know Stan the man wasn’t a virgin anymore.” 

“Don’t be crude! Of course I knew!! You think he waited until meeting you to give _that_ up? It took forever to get him to shut up about it,” Ford said wrinkling his nose as he stepped around the table so that he could stand in front of Rick. It didn’t do make the man look at him, though. “I just worry about how close he’s getting to you again.” 

“Y-You’re worried about him? Worry about m-m-me! Your brother can be a kinky fucker when he really gets goin’,” Rick said, grinning as he connected wires and circuit boards. Then the table jumped under his hands, making screws and small pieces of metal jump and then roll off it’s surface. 

“This isn’t funny, Sanchez! I don’t like you around my brother! True he and I have had our own differences but when his memories started coming back, after the whole thing with Bill, and he started talking to me about _you_... Well let’s just say I was glad to find you were gone from his life. Unfortunately you’re back and I would--” 

“Are y-y-you fucking kidding m-m-m-me,” Rick snapped, cutting Ford off and glaring furiously up at the other man from where he sat. “I-I don’t really give a shit what you want. If Stan invites me to his bed I-I’m not going to turn him down!” Rick actually chuckled at that and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “I-I mean yeah, I fucked up but all I did was leave. He hurt, he got over it. We’ve been talking. He and I d-d-don’t have a problem anymore. Who are y-you to talk anyway?” 

Ford jolted back, honestly looking surprised. How was it that every time they had this fight about who fucked up worse he actually looked startled. Sighing, Rick pinched the bridge of his nose. Sometimes it was fun riling Ford up and starting fights with him but he just wasn’t in the mood for it. 

“What do you mean by that? I admit things haven’t always been the best between Stan and I but things are different now,” Ford said defensively, glaring at Rick. “Besides I’m not like you! From what I can tell you’re a selfish alcoholic who only cares about himself.” 

“Oh no. Y-You’re right. You’re a vastly better person than me Ford,” Rick said, rolling his eyes. “But if you want to talk selfish, let’s talk selfish.” He shoved himself up from the table and walked around it so he could get nose to nose with Ford. “Y-Y-You cut Stan off, let him think he was stupid, and worthless for a school. Think about that,” Rick snarled, tapping a thin finger against his temple and taking a pause to let the words sink into the supposed genius’s mind. 

“It was my dream school, Rick! Do you have any idea what going there would have meant for me? You’re a man of science, yourself! Surely you must understand,” Ford said, looking at Rick in disbelief, like Rick was the one being a dick. It was infuriating! “Anyway we’ve discussed this. Ford and I have forgiven each other.” 

Rick’s hands flew up into the space between himself and Ford and he curled his fingers with the urge to reach out and strangle the man across from him. How on earth could he not understand. Sure Rick left Stan. He hurt Stan. He made him feel like shit by just taking off in the middle of the night after saying he was going to go get some ice cream. Rick was under no illusions that he was a shitty person who did a shitty thing. Still, he thought that Ford had been worse to Stan than he had. The fact that Ford didn’t seem to realize that drove Rick insane. 

“Are y-you even listening to yourself? Have you seen what I have accomplished without school?! Schools are not places for smart people, Ford! Wh-What did they actually teach you? School is just a dog show where the mentally and emotionally weak go to seek praise for their work because th-th-they need the validation,” Rick ranted, though his voice got no louder. If anything it got deeper and even a little quieter. “So th-th-the way I see it. You--you just cut Stan off for making a simple mistake! D-Do you know how much he hated himself? How much he felt like a fuck up and a fucking piece of shit compared to you? Did you even think about him at all w-when you had professors at y-your precious school patting your ass and calling you a good boy?” 

Finally Ford was starting to look ashamed. It was satisfying beyond belief! But Rick was too far into his rant to just pull back and let it go now. Besides, now that they were getting into it, Rick couldn’t help but think about all the times he and Stan had gotten shitfaced and one of them had broken down about their shitty family and how much they disliked themselves.

“It-It wasn’t all just sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll with us, Ford! Y-You have no idea what it is like sitting with Stan while he pukes his guts up and goes on a rant about how worthless he is and how his family doesn’t give a shit about him! You d-don’t---You don’t..” Rick made an angry growling noise in the back of his throat and swung his hand out to knock his coffee cup off the table. “You don’t get to take the moral high ground with m-m-me!” 

Breathing hard, Rick sat down, not caring about the puddle of coffee or broken ceramic scattered around and under the table. He suddenly felt tired. Too tried to keep yelling and fighting with Ford, who loved to bitch and moan about things he knew nothing about. 

“I-I drink too much, I-I love getting high, and leaving Stan like I did was a shitty thing to do. But you--you’re not better than m-me because you’re a straight edge nerd with a superiority complex,” Rick said visibly calmer than he was before. He was focused on his work and once again refused to look up at Ford. “Now leave m-me alone. I-I’m tired of fighting with you. It’s a waste of energy and it upsets Stan. So until you’re ready to stop trying to tell me I’m a piece of shit you can leave m-me alone.” 

He didn’t bother to look up when Ford Left the room

*********

Stan was entirely unsurprised to find his robe missing when he woke up. What did catch him off guard was Ford hovering outside his door when he opened it. His twin looked flustered and just a bit anxious. It wasn’t exactly an unfamiliar look but not one he’d seen in years. 

“Oh… Uh. Morning, Ford. You need something,” Stan asked as he closed the door behind him and headed to the bathroom. If he really needed to talk to him then he could follow. There were just some things that couldn’t wait in the morning. 

“Did I make you feel stupid when we were younger,” Ford blurted out, making Stan stop in his tracks. He supposed the bathroom could wait. 

“What? No. I mean I knew I wasn’t as bright as you were but _you_ didn’t make me feel dumb or anything. I was great at a lot of stuff you were terrible at,” Stan said with a chuckle, though it seemed to do little to lift Ford’s spirits. “What brought this up anyway?” 

“Well I was talking to Rick and, let me finish before you go yell at him,” Ford said, holding up a hand at the look of frustrating and anger that passed over his twin’s face. “I was being antagonistic and… Well he’s really good at putting people in their place,” he sighed. 

“Yeah, believe me. I know,” Stan groaned, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, much like Rick had earlier. “So what did he say?” 

“Well it started with me trying to give him a talking to because I saw him coming out of your room this morning er… afternoon, and after everything you had told me about him and your break up; well I thought he should leave you alone! He’s selfish and rude and an alcoholic maniac to boot and I just don’t want you to get hurt again.” Ford went temporarily silent after that, his gaze dropping to somewhere around Stan’s chin. “Then he pointed out that maybe I had more of a negative impact on your life than he did. At least emotionally.” 

Stan sighed. Not for the first time, he wished that the two geniuses could get along. Or if they were going to fight then that they would stop fighting over him. Rick didn’t let on to it as obviously as Ford did but all the things that Ford would say about him did make Rick feel bad. He already disliked himself and having an external source pointing out everything wrong with him didn’t help. Then there was Ford who already felt bad about the years that he and Stan had spent apart. 

Though despite that, he’d never seemed to have felt bad for what happened after their falling out. But then Stan figured maybe he didn’t really need to feel bad about that. After all, Stan had cost him his dream school, even if it had been an accident that caused it. 

“Listen, Ford. I gotta level with you, he isn’t entirely wrong,” Stan started, making Ford flinch at his words. “I mean you never made me feel like I was stupid. That was everyone else comparing me to you. I’m not exactly the brightest bulb, ya know?” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking off to the side because emotions were hard enough to talk about without looking the person you were talking to in the eye. “What you did that hurt me was that you’ve never seemed to believe that I wouldn’t have purposefully sabotage your chances to get into that school. You’re my brother! I love you! Even if I would have been upset about you being gone, I wanted you to be happy more. I was mad when you didn’t say anything against Dad when he kicked me out but I’m over that now. You and Rick need to stop fighting over who hurt me more when I’m not hurting anymore.” 

“I understand that but God, he is just so infuriating! He’s a genius! There is so much he could offer the world! But he’d rather get drunk or high, or just be a general nuisance. Even without what he did to you I just uuuugh!!!” Ford took a deep breath, calming his nerves. “But this isn’t about him. You know you’re not stupid, right, Stan? You rebuilt my portal without even having all of my journals! Most people wouldn’t be able to figure that out with all three! And I shouldn’t have let Dad kick you out.” He sighed deeply and reached up to rub the heel of his hand into this temple. “If there is one thing Rick and I can agree on it is that school isn’t for smart people. The difference is that it took me so long to realize it. Just a few years ago I told Dipper not to worry about school for that exact reason and I’ve been holding a chip on my shoulder because I didn’t get to go to some college… I’m sorry, Stan.” 

Stan flushed at the praise, still refusing to meet Ford’s gaze that was pleading for him to believe what he was saying. Not that he didn’t appreciate his brother’s efforts but he knew he wasn’t near as smart as either his brother or his ex lover. It was still nice to hear, though. The apology was even nicer. Stan sniffed quietly. Must be allergies. Why else would his eyes be watering like this?

“Thanks bro,” Stan said after clearing his throat. “I’m sorry too, about everything.” There was a beat of silence and then Stan chuckled quietly. “You know you might have more in common with Rick than you think if you can get past his uh… General weirdness. He’s not such a bad guy. Or he wasn’t when I knew him. And you know, Rick never really hurt me aside from the whole leaving thing. Now I have to go to the bathroom before my bladder explodes. Good talk!” 

Ford laughed as Stan beat a hasty retreat. He was right, it had been a good talk and Ford felt a little lighter for having had it. Eventually he’d have to have one with Rick too. Because Stan had also been right about that. If he wasn’t hurting anymore there was no reason for he and Rick to be at each other’s throats. And Ford had been just as antagonistic as Rick had been since he showed up. Neither party was faultless. It was probably time that Ford owned up to that. Besides, they had to learn to work together if they were going to help Stan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope yall enjoyed this. I'm not sure how I'm feeling about these recent chapters. They probably aren't as bad as I think.


	5. Chapter 5

When Morty woke up it was late in the afternoon. Mabel was still in Dipper’s bed, curled up tightly on her side and digging her knees into her brother’s back. Not that the sleeping boy seemed to notice. He was drooling on his pillow and shoved up as close to the wall as he could get. It seemed like Mabel had taken all the blankets in her sleep and then ended up throwing them over the side of the bed so all that either of them had to cover them was their clothes from last night. 

Morty stared at them tiredly for a moment. 

They reminded him a lot of kittens in a basket and a little bit of a dream he’d had about a week ago and that was enough guilt to send him stumbling away from the bed. After quickly gathering up clean(ish) clothes for the day he booked it to the bathroom, took a quick shower, and got dressed. 

Everything seemed a little less terrible now that the sun had risen and he’d gotten some sleep. The fact that no one in the house was yelling at each other was an additional perk. When he finally made it into the kitchen he was met with Pacifica sitting at the table with her phone hooked up to a machine that practically screamed ‘Rick’. It seemed to be some sort of printer and was currently pumping out what looked like a pair of purple blouse. One of many from the look of things. There were piles of clothes all over the table and a suitcase at Pacifica’s feet that was nearly full of them already. 

“What’s all th-this,” Morty asked, motioning to everything as he went to investigate the fridge. There wasn’t a ton in there and some of the things that _were_ in there he was wary of. 

“We had to leave all my stuff in an alternate dimension and Rick promised to make me some new stuff,” she said idly, eyes half lidded as she swiped her thumb across her phone. “This is some pretty nifty shit, though. Your grandpa could make a lot of money off this sort of shit.” 

“Y-Yeah. Rick doesn’t really care much about money. Or… anything? Like if i-it isn’t fun, for him he doesn’t care,” Morty said with a frown, before finally settling on pulling out a jar of jelly to make a sandwich with. 

“Sounds like he’s kinda a dick but I get my stuff back so it’s not my problem,” she said with a smile. The shirt blouse that she had been printing fell out of the printer and then dropped into the bag that was waiting under it. 

“W-what’s with the luggage and stuff anyway? Y-You going somewhere?” He as met with silence. Looking up from his half made PB&J he frowned. Pacifica had hunched her shoulders up a little and was staring pointedly down at her phone. “Y-you are, aren’t you? Does Mabel know?” 

“No. Not yet I just… I feel bad. I mean I know she likes me? I like her too! Like if there’s anyone to have a Summer fling with, it is probably Mabel. Like she is just this fucking ball of sunshine and I mean she likes to party and we could just have a lot of fun ya know? But all this stuff with prophetic hallucinations of the future and having to stop Bill from coming back,” she paused and shuddered at the thought. Wierdmageddon had left quite the impression on her and the rest of Gravity Falls, even if they didn’t talk about it. “It’s just too heavy for me, you know?” 

“Y-Y-Yeah, I get it. But you’re going to have to talk to Mabel. I-It’s kinda a bitch move to just disappear and it really fucks people up,” Morty pointed out, thinking of his mom and how she was about Rick while he switched from jelly to peanut butter. 

“I knoooow,” Pacifica whined, thumping her head down on the table and then letting out a noise of alarm and jerked it up. “Why is this table so sticky?!” 

There was thumping from above them and muffled shouts, leading Morty to assume that the twins had woken up. It looked like Pacifica’s time was just about upt when it come to when she’d end up having her talk with Mabel. She must have been thinking the same thing because when he dropped his knife in the sink and turned around she was staring at the ceiling with a small amount of dread on her face. 

“What do I even say to her? I don’t want her to think that I’m leaving because I don’t like her or something! I don’t want to hurt her…” Pacifica said, turning her pleading gaze to Morty who just shrugged. 

“I-I don’t know! Just tell her w-what’s up! Mabel seems pretty understanding,” Morty offered lamely, getting an unimpressed glare for his efforts. Thankfully there was the unmistakable thump of Mabel barreling down the stairs which was a good enough signal for Morty to hightail it out of there.

*********

Dipper had beat her to the shower, which was annoying. 

But it did mean that she would get first dibs on anything tasty in the kitchen!

Not that there was usually anything tasty in the kitchen unless she or Dipper made it. Much as she loved her grunkles neither were great cooks. She was pretty sure that Dipper was only as good as he was because of her marvelous influence! There was a Pacifica when she got to the kitchen, though! And that was just about as good. Grabbing a banana out of the fruitbowl on the counter, she plopped down beside the blonde. 

“Good afternoon, Pacifcia!!! What’s this nifty doohickey,” she asked, pointing at the weird, printer-looking thing on the table. It was busily puffing out a pair of jeans so ar as she could tell. 

“A clothes perinter? Idk it can print bigger stuff too. So far it’s made everything I’ve found online for it to print. Rick made it so I could replace my clothes,” Pacifica said quietly, not looking at Mabel as she spoke, which was a bit odd and shady. 

“Well that’s cool,” Mabel chirped, peeling the banana and then taking an oversized bite. It took her a moment to swallow it all down but when she did, she nudged her elbow into Pacifica’s side. “Hey. You okay?” 

“I’m leaving.” The answer had come so quickly and seemingly out of nowhere that Mabel froze, unable to think of anything to say. “I’m sorry! I’m not like leaving-leaving. I’m just not staying here because I really like you Mabel! I do! You’re fun. You’re a great summer romance, summer fling, whatever,” pacifical babbled, still unable to look at her dark haired friend. “It’s just all this shit with Morty’s crazy visions and having to stop Bill from coming back and I mean it’s a lot! I just got kicked out of my house and outed on Facebook and I just can’t deal with,” her voice cut off and she cycled her hands around each other like she was trying to guide the words out with them. “I can’t deal with all this!” 

“Oh…” Mabel said after a long pause. “Um… Where are you going?” 

It was all she seemed to be able to manage. Part of her felt a little hurt, and then she felt stupid for feeling hurt because it wasn’t as if she and Pacifica were a thing. They kissed at a rave and comforted each other when things were rough for the past week. But it wasn’t as if they were in a relationship. There was also the whole thing with Bill and Mabel could understand not wanting to deal with that again. She didn’t even want to but she had to. Partly because it seemed that she and her family were the ones most capable, but mostly because she was the one he wanted to use to hurt the people she loved. 

“Stan called Soos and Melody for me,” Pacifica said quietly, looking up at Mabel who wasn’t looking at her at all. The other girl had started staring at the weird printer that Rick had made as it spat a shirt out and into the waiting suitcase. “I don’t really have an abundance of relatives to take me in and ya know, this way I get to stay in Gravity Falls.” 

“So we’ll still be able to hang out and stuff,” Mabel said, trying to sound optimistic. Just because Pacifica wasn’t staying here didn’t mean they couldn’t hang out and go to parties together. She even managed a smile at that thought. 

“Yeah! I don’t want to get away from _you_ , Mabel. I just don’t think that this is the right place for me right now,” Pacifica said, finally catching the other girl’s eyes. Mabel was wearing a small but real smile and she nodded at what Pacifica had to say.

“I understand, Pacifica,” Mabel said, lunging forward to hug the girl. She could feel all the tension in the blonde’s body melt away as she hugged her back.

**********

Pacifica was gone by the end of the day. Which, considering how late everyone woke up, wasn’t that long after she and Mabel talked. Mabel had been sad at first but by the time she had finished helping Pacifica pack her bags, she was hopeful. The two of them had already made plans to hang out again soon. 

Stan and Ford had also made a reappearance as the sun was sinking below the horizon. Apparently they had been in the basement running some tests on Stan’s noggin. Through a series of they had come to find that there was some physical remnant of Bill left behind in Stan’s skull. Though what it was or what to do about it, they had yet to decide. Even Ford grudgingly admitted that it would have been nice to have Rick around to try and bounce ideas off of. It seemed he had become determined to at least try and get along with the other man. 

That is if he ever came back from wherever the hell he stormed off to. Not that anyone was particularly worried about him. It wasn’t as though it was odd for Rick to take off whenever he pleased. He’d be back eventually. And he was. 

It wasn’t until everyone had settled in the living room that he showed up. Everyone had plates full of pizza, or in Mabel’s case a whole box because for some reason that she couldn’t grasp no one else liked pineapple on their pizza. That suited her just fine. It meant she got the whole thing to herself. The worse part was that everyone would eventually stare at her in disgust as she gobbled up piece after piece of pineapple covered pepperoni pizza. 

Just as they’d managed to agree on something to watch a portal opened up in the wall by the TV and out came Rick. He stumbled forward a couple steps then fell face first to the ground with a bone clattering thump. Everyone was silent as they watched him slowly push himself up onto his hands and knees. The typically cranky old man was covered in a suspicious amount of glitter and paint but no one said anything about it as he looked groggily at everyone and then grinned. 

“I-I-I’ve got an idea to deal with Stan’s nut,” Rick said before letting out a childish snicker at what he’d just said. Of course he had meant head but everyone got the unspoken joke. “We’re going home tomorrow M-m-Morty! Urghh.. You m-me, and all the twins. Beth is gonna hate you, Stan.” 

And with that he dropped back down onto the floor, though this time he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to get back up. Stan sighed heavily and got up, using his foot to turn Rick so his hs head was turned to the side. The last thing they needed was for the old geezer to die on them. 

“Any idea what he’s going on about, kid,’ Stan asked Morty who shrugged and let out a sigh of his own. “Well I guess we’ll just have to wait till tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not the best chapter I've ever written but I think I'm finding my way back onto the beaten path for this particular fic. So just try and bear with me.


End file.
